Manufacture of surgical bandages



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT WOOD JOHNSON, OF E LIZABETII, NEW JERSEY.

MAN U FACTQURE. OF SU RQICAL BAN DAG ES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 426,590, dated April 29, 1890.

Application filed May 16, 1888. Serial No. 274,091. (fipecimensd To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT WOOD JOHNSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Elizabeth, in the county of Union and State of New Jersey, have invented a new and useful Surgical Bandage, consisting of a composition of matter, of which the following is a specification.

Heretofore plaster-of-paris bandages used by surgeons in dressing broken orfractured limbs, or in other cases where a splint might be used, have been manufactured bypassing the strip of cotton or other textile through powdered plaster-of-paris, thus causing the plaster-of-paris to adhere to the textile ma terial. In using these the surgeon first moistens them and then winds them about the broken or fractured limb. IVhen dry, the bandages, owing to the hardening of the plaster-of-paris, become stilt and firm, and serve as a mechanical support to the injured part. As thus manufacturedplaster-of-paris bandages are somewhat dit'ficult to use, as the plaster-of-paris sifts out in handling. They also become inert with age, as the plaster-ofparis gradually absorbs moisture from the air.

My invention consists in a surgical bandage containing powdered plaster-of-paris with india-rubber or gutta-percha spread while in solution upon a piece of cloth or other suitable material.

In making this compound of materials I prefer to use the following process: I first prepare a solution of india-rubber or guttapercha by using Volatile solution of common petroleum, the cheapest form being naphtha or benzine, although bisulphide of carbon does I find that bandages made of this compound of materials are superior in that they hold. the p1aster-of-paris more firmly, require less care in handling, and are less apt to become inert with age.

WVhat I claim, and desire to secure by Let ters Patentof the United States, is-

A surgical bandage consisting of textile material coated with plaster-of-paris in a solu tion of india-rubber or gutta-percha, in the proportions substantially as described.

- ROBERT IVOOD JOHNSON. \Vitnesses:

CHARLES M. STABLEE, EDWARD M. JOHNSON. 

